Something big is going down this weekend. Super-Heavyweight big. If it isn’t Metamoris 6, it is certainly an event aimed at building the Metamoris 6 card.

Behind the scenes Ralek Gracie and his team have been working on a secret tournament that will take place this weekend in California.

The tournament will work in a round robin format, with each man competing a minimum of four 15 minute matches during the course of the day. While the scoring system has not yet been announced, it is believed that the total number of submissions scored by a grappler in his 4 matches will be weighted higher than winning on points.

The line-up for the tournament is yet to be released, but will consist of grapplers based in the California area, and is open for super-heavyweights only.

While it remains to be seen who will appear in this secret tournament, it is certainly an interesting concept. A round robin tournament with each match to be released online over the course of a few weeks, with the winner getting a big contract with the promotion, it draws striking similarities with the UFC’s flagship show The Ultimate Fighter.

Sources close to the event have stated that the tournament’s winner will likely face Josh Barnett, who is coming off a stunning submission victory of Dean Lister at Metamoris 4.

It can be one of the hardest parts of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to get used to early on. Whether you are an athletic person or not, when you begin training BJJ, you quickly realize that your cardiovascular endurance is not on the level of the more experienced practitioners in the room. This is perfectly normal.

I was very athletic when started BJJ three years ago. I went to the gym 5 days per week and would do at least 45 minutes of cardio each visit. However when I started rolling, or sparring BJJ, after 20 minutes I was outside hanging over a ledge gasping for air. The cardiovascular drain experienced in Jiu Jitsu cannot be explained until you feel it for yourself.

One of the saddest ways to tap out in BJJ is the “cardio tap”. This is where you tap, not due to a submission hold, but rather lack of cardio. It is always embarrassing and it is never something your coach likes to see.

So how can one improve their cardio for BJJ? This is what Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Legend Marcelo Garcia has to say about the situation:

“I put all of my energy into Jiu Jitsu because I don’t have to do anything (else). I don’t have to lift weights. I don’t have to jog. My energy has to be focused on this if I want to improve on this. If I want to improve on this I don’t want to improve my running or swimming. I want to improve upon Jiu Jitsu so I put all of my energy on that. But, you have to try and reach your limit.”

Essentially Marcelo is saying that if you want to improve your cardio strength for BJJ, do more BJJ, and really give it your best sustained effort!

However some people cannot get to the BJJ gym everyday to practice Jiu Jitsu. If that is your situation, here are some great ways to improve your cardio for BJJ, outside of the academy:

Sprint Walking:Warm your body up by running at a slow-to-medium pace for about 5 minutes. The sprint portions should last between 10-20 seconds, and the walk portion could last between 20 seconds and 2 minutes, depending on your fitness level and the progression of your training session. The walk portions tend to increase as the session unfolds.

Hill Running:Find a steep hill. You probably have one within a half-mile or so of your house, even if you’ve never noticed it. It doesn’t have to be much. Jog to the hill and then run up it as fast as you can. You’ll be warmed up by the time you reach the top. Walk back down the hill and repeat as many times as you can. The great thing about hill sprints is that they dictate the pace of your run. After four repetitions, my heart always feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest. The light jog back to your house is your cool-down.

Stationary Bike or Aerodyne:After a warm-up of 5 minutes start your sprint phase by standing up and pedaling as fast as you can for 30 seconds. Then sit down and pedal for 30 seconds at a slow pace (“walk” phase). There are many different sprint-rest combinations you can try, but generally speaking after 20 minutes of 30/30, your legs will be so exhausted that you can barely walk.

One final note for White Belts:It is very easy to spaz about while rolling which causes an immense energy drain. Look for places and times where you can rest and relax your muscles mid-roll. Sometimes when you pass the guard you can take a few moments to lock in your position, while at the same time relaxing your muscles and breathing. Other times when your guard is passed, there is sometimes a moment or two where you can regather yourself while your opponent thinks about their next move. This latter practice is dangerous against higher belts because they don’t require as much time to ponder their next moves.

Hope you enjoyed the article! Good luck with your cardio and your BJJ journey!

What’s the difference between Japanese Jiu Jitsu and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? Japanese Jiu Jitsu was the original samurai art. Some call it the “mother art”. It incorporated everything that they needed to use on the battlefield when the samurai soldiers were fighting. Obviously certain assumptions come along with that; that you are big and strong, that you are wearing armor and that you’re carrying a samurai sword (a katana).

Over the years in Japan the art was passed down from one generation to the next and it was sort of, not watered down, but it was obviously made a bit safer in some ways. As an example, the original “hip throw” wasn’t your back to someone else’s stomach. You would rotate around and it was your back to someone else’s back. You would throw them over the top so that they would land on their neck. The idea on the battlefield was breaking their neck, something you can’t really practice very often.

So there were certain things that were changed and adjusted over the years. But, the interesting thing about Japanese Jiu Jitsu is that it contains so much. There are so many different elements to it in the classes. You might do grappling sometimes, but you also might do kata (synchronized movements, or “forms”). It could be the throws that you see in Judo. It could be Aikido or directional throws. It could be striking, some of which got brought over into Karate. So there are lots of different elements under the umbrella of Japanese Jiu Jitsu.

The main difference between Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Japanese Jiu Jitsu is that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu focuses on one element of that. That element improves it 100 fold. So while someone who does BJJ may not know anything in terms of kata, or may not know any weapons work, or any of the classical stuff. This section here, which is the grappling game, in my opinion they are much better because they focus on it so much more.

If you enjoy this topic check out our article from Bill Jones where he describes his first BJJ class as one coming from a Japanese Jiu Jitsu background!

It is true that a lot of the techniques that we see in BJJ originally came from Japan, but BJJ has actually built on it so much more now. It’s like branches of a tree. When you learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or Gracie Jiu Jitsu, you will see a lot more branches coming out. You become more able to actually react to what the other person is doing. Many times guys with a Japanese Jiu Jitsu background are more aggressive and harder simply because they have to enforce the techniques that they know.

BJJ is generally a more relaxed art; less classical, with less formality. Brazilians are a lot more relaxed in that respect. As a result there is more testing of the art. Where the Japanese mindset is that the instructor will dictate things to you, in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu the instructor says “Okay I’m going to teach this, now let’s try it.” Things are tested by the instructor.

In Japanese Jiu Jitsu the instructor will dictate and you are forced to have respect. That’s the etiquette. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu the instructor will teach but then work with you. When you see what is going on there the respect for the instructor is implied through practical means.

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Grandmaster Helio Gracie was born October 1, 1913 and passed January 29, 2009. He is credited with being one of the founding fathers of our beloved sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Helio was not physically a large man. His lack of an imposing physical stature caused him to make adaptations to the Jiu Jitsu that he had learned from his older brother Carlos. Eventually his adaptations would allow for the smaller person to be able to defeat the larger person. Before Helio Gracie, “size mattered” in terms of combat sports and self-defense.

This “David and Goliath” theme would be revisited in 1993 when the most unimposing of Helio’s sons Royce, would herald the popularization of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the United States at UFC 1.

(Helio Gracie’s son Royce Gracie fighting at UFC 5)

Thankfully video camera technology was around to chronicle the rise of Gracie Jiu Jitsu, and thankfully it is all available on YouTube for the world to witness. Much of the footage below is quite rare and would probably have gone largely unseen were it not for this age of video sharing. That being said I hope you enjoy!

The 2011 Pan Ams was my first big jiu jitsu tournament and it was one of the best days of my life. To make the experience more authentic my friends and I showed up to the event on Brazilian time, or late. Being a lightweight I was the first of our group to compete and when we got there the feather weights were already underway. The arena was filled with twelve rings of mats all filled with competitors. People shouting, celebrations, crying, the whole world of jiu jitsu was gathered at this spot today. As a blue belt, I had a division with over 120 competitors, meaning it was seven rounds to the finals. It was a huge challenge; this was the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Pan Am.

As soon I had hurriedly put on my gi the announcer was calling my bracket to the warm up area. Inside this fenced off pen gathered all of the guys in my division; mean mugging each other, aggressively doing burpies, and singing along to gangster rap as it blared from head phones. We were all here to send each other home but were first forced into a tiny area with almost no room to do our intended warm ups. After a rush of claustrophobia I sat on the floor, closed my eyes, and meditated on my affirmations. ‘Everyone else here thinks they’re the good guy, so I’ll be the bad guy. I’m like Darth Vader so I wear my black gi. I’m here to ruin someone’s day. I am the bad draw they didn’t want’. I waited so long I began considering that they must have forgotten to call me when I finally heard my name.

As I weighed in and got my gi checked, I realized that my opponent had a strange ID card from another country. He said a few words of his native tongue to his coach and I knew that ‘lispy, whinny Spanish’ meant I drew a Brazilian in the first round. He wouldn’t be here unless he was good. My heart started pumping. I was across the country in this huge tournament, I didn’t know where my friends were and my coach Comprido was away at the UFC in Las Vegas.

Standing there in the weight ins, I started to run through my mind all the excuses I could use after I lose this match, when in the corner of my eye I saw Andre Galvao, one of my biggest heroes. “Andre” I yelled, “I’m a big fan” he turned around, looked back at and grabbed me by the shoulder. “Yes” was all he said then walked away but it completely hit a reset button on my train of thought. I’m not here to lose this match, I’m here because I love jiu jitsu. They called us to the mat.

In every first match of every tournament I’ve ever done I get hit by what’s called the adrenaline dump. You lose sense of time, your IQ plummets, you have amnesia for much of the experience. All your training at the gym cannot prepare you for when your brain goes out the window and you rely on instinct. About half way through the match I got my bearings together and was no longer so vulnerable. ‘Slow down’ I told myself, ‘breathe, relax your grips’. Once I swept my opponent and got on top I felt him start to panic. This wasn’t supposed to happen to him, but then again he pulled the bad guy in the first round. I used a lot of energy holding him down as he kicked like a wild deer but I eventually passed his guard, winning the match on points. With the first one behind me I returned to the still crowded warm up area with a new comfort and focus. Now it was time to get in the zone.

Right away when the next match started I could feel my opponent nervously shaking. He probably got a buy and this was his first match of the day. As the bad guy, I had to use his jitters to my advantage. I kept my cool but pushed the paced on him, quickly sweeping to the top and passing straight in to an armbar, forcing him to tap.

During the third fight I lost points when I got swept and had to use my reserve flexibility to get out of more trouble. I realized that my opponent was one tough guy. While I hung in there, getting smashed on the bottom, I thought about how I tried hard and I won two fights. I could go home and Comprido wouldn’t be that disappointed, this being my first big tournament. Everyone would realize that guy was just better than me. I thought that till out of nowhere, I heard my friend Bruce from the stands ‘One minute left’. That made me move.

If only it had been two minutes I would have thought it was too long and quit, but I could push in this last minute and make something happen. The next time he tried to step around my legs, I followed him and rolled upside down. My legs landed right how they needed to be to step up triangle choke but it seemed like he didn’t realized or know the danger. I took a deep breath and unwound, cinching a deep triangle choke. Grabbing my ankle, I squeezed and got the submission from the trick move, narrowly avoiding defeat.

In the warm up pen my friends were waiting. They were all excited for how I was doing while I kept it inside. If I won one more match I would be farther in at a big tournament than any of the Americans on our team had gone. ‘One match at a time’ I told them, trying hard to stay cool. While I waited at the mat for my next fight, I saw my next opponent practice wrestling shots, so I started pretending to practice judo throws were he could see. As soon as the match started I showed my bluff and immediately pulled him into a deep half guard, a place a wrestler type like him would feel confused. After a sweep, I snuck to his back and cranked a bow and arrow choke. My friends cheered from their distant seats in the stands. I was now deep in the no-man’s land of the late tournament that was unknown to everyone I knew; that is everyone except for Comprido.

After about an hour break I fought this kid in the quarter finals that had a really similar game to mine. The entire match I felt like I had no control but it was still somehow close. I swept him, he swept me back, he nearly got a couple of submissions on me. My teammates were far from me in stands so there was no one to tell me the score but I knew time was running out. He rolled away as I went passed his guard but I jumped on his back right as the buzzer rang. As the ref lifted my hand I honestly had no idea what the score was. For the first time all day I was tired but there was no time for that as the semi final, and hence the meddling round, was next.

I focused on my affirmations. ‘You are meant to be here. You trained hard for this. You were already one of the best in the room before the day began. And you still are.’ I was already in third place no matter what, but no, I could do this.

The next guy came out strong, stacking me up on my head after I pulled guard. He had a scary look; a white dude with cornrows just seemed intimidating. He pushed me around on the mat for a bit as I scurried upside down in a ball looking for something with no success. As he tried to stack me up again I got the chance to grab his belt. Using my grip on his belt I closed a triangle around his neck without either of his own arms. He tried hard to posture up for a second but quickly tapped. Afterwards, my opponent asked me what that submission was and I told him I honestly did not know, I had never done it before. I had never done any of this before but I had faked my way this far. But I had to focus; I had a chance to take this whole thing. Luckily the submission was quick and I still had a lot of gas left.

In the other semi final that would decide my opponent, there was a Brazilian and a young American. After a little back and forth the American got a nasty armbar, the Brazilian flopped around but would not tap and his arm got bent back. I think I may have even yelled for him to tap before the ref stepped in and saved him from further damage. After the match the American’s coach cheered, it was none other the Saulo Ribiero, the former Michael Jordan of Jiu Jitsu. I had studied Saulo’s book on the plane out to California. So great, he has a hall of famer for a coach. But I knew I was always dangerous. Back to my affirmations before the finals ‘Everyone else here looks like a fool. They wear their gi like it’s a Halloween costume and pajamas. I was reborn on a beach in Brazil in this gi. My gi is still covered in blood, sweat, and amniotic fluid. I was born to wear this gi’. They called us to the mat.

It was one of the quicker fights of my career. Within ten seconds I was flipped in the air onto my back. Twenty seconds later he picked me up, rolled me, and jumped on my back. After staving off a lapel choke, mounted triangle, and an armbar for several breaths I had to tap to a combination of the above. The kid simply out classed me. If I would have faced him in the first round he would have beat me then too. When I realized he still had braces on his teeth, I asked him how old he was, 17. This was his day, and it turns out it was the first of many others for him. This second place was the best I ever got. I shook his hand and slunk off the mat.

I was sitting there on the ground in a daze when Saulo walked up to me. He told me that I fought well and that I had a lot of talent. He knew my name and gave me a lot of respect. He was so humble to even talk to me and I was honored to meet him.

Standing on the second step of the podium, one gets the distinct sense that you are almost literally a stepping stone to the champion. There were 120 people at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day there are 119 losers. They cannot all be stepping stones. They all needed to be here for the sake of the art. If no one but two people came to the World championship there would be a champion decided, but that would be a dull champion. We make sure that Jiu Jitsu stays sharp and that if anyone wants that title, I will make damn sure that they are sharper than me. I may not win every tournament I enter, I may never win a match again but I will keep going out there because I’m no stepping stone, I’m a whet stone.